Logan Square Neighborhood Assoc Inc

Parent Mentor Program & Parent Engagement Institute:For over 30 years, Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) has trained parents in the Logan Square area, mainly mothers, to help fill persistent achievement gaps by volunteering in classrooms for two hours/day for at least 100 hours a semester. The Parent Mentor Program starts with a week-long training, inspired by restorative practices, during which parents explore their own leadership qualities and dreams, develop networks, learn classroom tutoring skills, and build social capital. After the weeklong training, Parent Mentors are paired with a teacher mentor. They work side-by-side in the classroom two hours/day Monday-Thursday. On Fridays, the Parent Mentor cohort comes together for reflection and professional development. Working together all year long builds strong relationships between parents, teachers, and principals. Parent Mentors give extra attention to students in need, particularly English Language Learner studentsmany of whom need extra support in grades K-3 because they are learning literacy in two languages. Parent Mentors learn how the U.S. school system works and strengthen skills needed to support their own children in school. Meanwhile, they build the confidence, expertise, and networks to advocate for their schools and communities. This begins to transform both the parents and the schoolsboth parents and the schools begin to see the positive impact parents' leadership can bring into the schools and parents also begin to solidify and set steps to meet their own personal goals. The Parent Engagement Institute (PEI), a partnership of Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) and Southwest Organizing Project, coaches community organizations and school districts across the country to replicate and scale the LSNA Parent Mentor Program. PEI sustains program validity by providing a structure for partner community organizations so that expectations are clear and by modeling the values of the Parent Mentor Program throughout its work. PEI cultivates a powerful network of Parent Mentor staff and leaders while at the same time providing individualized coaching to partner organizations, recognizing that every school, organization, and community is unique. PEI sets the strategy to expand the Parent Mentor model across the nation and guides Parent Mentor leaders to lead that campaign.

Youth Organizing and Programming & Quality of Life Plan:Palenque LSNA hires youth ages 14 to 24 years old for summer internships. High schoolers can earn a stipend while developing leadership and community organizing skills with the Youth Leadership Institute through creating and implementing their own community action research project. Since 2007, Palenque LSNA has trained over 1,300 youth leaders to work within our community developing people-centered solutions to issues like affordable housing, constitutional rights, ending punitive discipline, and education.In 2018, Logan Square Neighborhood Association's (LSNA's) community was one of three (Austin, Hermosa/Logan Square West, and North Lawndale) that released community-led Quality of Life Plans. With the support of Local Initiatives Support Corporation-Chicago, each community engaged local leaders over the prior two years to convene the community and create a joint agenda. These plans lay out a clear agenda for what the community would like to accomplish over the subsequent five years, with a strong base of leadership. LSNA's plan was finalized in November 2018 and can be accessed on LSNA's website (LSNA's Holistic Plan, revised each year, is based on LSNA's Quality of Life Plan. This plan outlines strategies that include: (1) clear programs to support families, (2) plans to protect current homeowners and add new affordable housing, and (3) ways to foster local businesses owned by residents. LSNA is also ready to help residents improve their own quality of life, so they are more able to stayimproving education by strengthening neighborhood schools, bringing in more jobs and training residents for better-paying work, and improving health care, including mental health services.

Housing & ImmigrationLogan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) builds leadership skills among community youth and parents who feel a stake in articulating their own belonging and place. These emerging youth and parent leaders, together with housing and education organizers, engage community families to participate in conversations about the future of their neighborhoods; push for new housing ordinances and zoning processes that promote family-sized housing; and make important connections between affordable housing availability and its impact on neighborhood schools.Logan Square Neighborhood Association's (LSNA's) Immigration Team, including DOJ-Accredited Representatives, provides leadership development training and mentoring, and offers legal services and economic assistance programs. LSNA is also developing an Armitage Avenue Welcoming Corridor, supporting local businesses. LSNA is developing the concrete establishment of plazas that visually celebrate community appropriate art and culture. This cultural reverence brings healing, decreases isolation, and welcomes the community to celebrate their heritage.